


Still Here

by zoeteniets



Series: Counter-canon [1]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Hospitalization, Hospitals, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 09:58:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8245090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoeteniets/pseuds/zoeteniets
Summary: Aaron wakes up in hospital after the events of October week.





	

The first thing he is aware of when he wakes up is absence. Usually, when he wakes there is a comforting heavy weight behind him. Rob has the unfortunate tendency of moving in his sleep and it used to really annoy him. But now, he finds it amusing that no matter which position they fall asleep in he nearly always wakes with Rob’s arm slung over his torso, a knee between his thighs, and a hand tangled in his hair.

He’s not too concerned. Rob sometimes goes through random bursts where he decides he wants to do a million things before 8 am. But, and Aaron won’t give him the satisfaction of admitting this, he much prefers to wake up slowly with his boyfriend still in the bed. It makes the mornings slightly more bearable.

Still, maybe Aaron is really lucky this morning, and when he finally opens his eyes Rob will standing in the doorway in only his boxer shorts, holding two mugs of coffee.

The second thing that he notices is missing is the warm and comfy over-sized duvet they share. Rob insisted they buy it to stop Aaron complaining about Rob’s octopus-like tenancies resulting in stolen covers. Instead of the soft, downy feeling of the posh bed-sheets Rob had picked out (and who knew that thread-count was a thing that actually made a difference) the ones that he is currently tucked up in are lightweight and a little scratchy. The pillows are thin and too soft as well.

He can feel his mood souring as he thinks about how even the smell of Rob’s cologne is missing from the room and, disappointingly, there is no smell of breakfast wafting from the kitchen. There are no birds singing outside, no vague and indistinct voices he can hear from outside through the open window. Between Rob and the duvet, Aaron has to sleep with the window open or he’ll get heat stroke, but right now there is no breeze, despite it being October.

To top it all off, his mouth tastes like something’s died in it. He’ll have to get up and brush his teeth before Rob gets back.

But first he’ll need to open his eyes.

Of course as soon as he does he realises where he is. And yes, he remembers that the reason he needs to brush his teeth so badly is because of the amount of brackish water he swallowed as he drowned. Which would also explain which his chest hurts, why his eyes are crusty, and why Rob is missing from his bed.

So, back in hospital. Delightful.

It’s very quiet, and very dark, which means he’s probably woken up at some weird hour. And he reckons he’s done so naturally because there are no nurses around, and his mum isn’t hovering over him anxiously. All he can do is lie there for a moment, and work out which bit of him hurts the most.

A soft noise distracts him and he looks to the side. And his heart swells three sizes because there is Robert hunched over in a chair, clearly fast asleep by the way his head is awkwardly dropped down onto his chest. A coffee cup is griped loosely in his hand and there are three more empty cups on the table beside him. Aaron can see the edge of a hospital band peeking out from under the sleeves of the hoddie his hopelessly posh boyfriend is wearing. Rob's got on a pair of too-big tracksuit bottoms as well, which is just plain odd. It looks like the sentimental weirdo is wearing Aaron's clothes.

Rob will be pissed off to know that Aaron didn’t wake him immediately. He’ll also probably be annoyed that his clear attempt to stay awake (no one likes hospital coffee that much) didn’t work. Aaron just wants a few more moments though, before he has to confront exactly what happened last night.

Maybe he’s been out of it longer? When he glances to the side there is a handful of get well cards, and even a bouquet of flowers.

And, so small he didn’t notice it at first, a box.

Right. He should probably look inside it.

It’s nearer Rob’s side of the table, so he really has to reach for it. But luckily it doesn’t hurt that much, and his moving around doesn’t wake Rob. He sits, the box in both hands, and opens it.

He’s not sure if he’s surprised or not when he sees the ring nestled inside. Sure, a proposal is pretty shocking but given everything that has happened since January it almost feels inevitable. Like they were leading up to something. Rob’s been a bit jumpy, a bit tetchy, for the last few days and it suddenly makes sense.

The sneaky bastard. And, oh god, Aaron loves him so much.

He takes the ring from the box. It’s just a simple gold band, but there is an inscription on the inside.

“We’re both still here.”

Aaron can’t help but laugh. Oh, it’s even more poignant now. He slips the ring onto his finger so that he doesn’t have to look at the words anymore and of course it fits. Just like everything else about him and Rob.

He sits admiring the glint of gold under the hospital lights a little while longer, trying to deal with the enormity of the knowledge that someone, that Rob, wants to marry him.

He should really put the ring back in the box, but he’s suddenly very tired. He lies back down, trying to motivate himself to take it off, but what’s the point when he’ll just put it on again? Sure, Rob will be annoyed that he didn’t technically get to propose, but Aaron doesn’t think he’ll be all that upset for long.

He folds his hands on his chest, and if he falls asleep with a smile on his face then it’s no-one’s business but his own.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm new to this fandom! I think I timed it slightly wrong joining in a fortnight before October week, but I'm loving all the ideas and headcannons floating around. I really like the idea of Robert being annoyed/amused that Aaron was so willing to marry him that he didn't even get the chance to propose properly. Come shout at me on tumblr if you like. I'm iwillsendapostcard :)


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